Lost

Disclaimer: I don't own the Magnificent Seven, not making any money, just cheap thrills.

Warning: Slash, Angst

Rating: FRT

Lost
Chapter 19


Chris stared at the door Ezra had just walked through, shocked by his revelation. He wanted to go after him, but, even before he was out of his seat, he realized he couldn't. He had promised Buck that Vin wouldn't be left alone, he couldn't break that promise. Not if he wanted Buck to ever get any rest again. With a heavy sigh, he sank back into his chair, scrubbing a hand over his face. Ezra had investigated Browner before this? Wait a minute! If Browner was convicted for the earlier crimes he'd committed, he should have still been in prison. What was he doing out? Reaching for the phone on the bedside table, he quickly phoned the office. He might not be able to go after Ezra yet, but there was something he could do.

"ATF, Agent Dunne speaking."

Chris smiled, "JD, you're just the man I'm looking for."

"Hey Chris, how's Vin? Did you convince Buck to go home?"

"Vin's doing fine JD and yeah Buck went home for a while. He should be at the office in a few hours. I wouldn't count on him staying long though. Look JD, that isn't why I called. I need you to do something for me."

"Sure Chris, what ya need?" JD quickly asked, always eager to help the man in black.

"I want you to look into Rupert Browner. Seems he was investigated a few years ago by the FBI and I'm wondering if he was convicted for starters. If he was convicted then I want to know what he's doing out of prison?"

JD nodded as he made notes, already thinking about how to find out who was behind Browner's early release, if that was what had happened. "Ezra involved in the FBI case?" he asked, quickly putting two and two together.

"Yeah he was," Chris confirmed. "JD, I don't want you telling anybody else about this. Ezra's already feeling guilty, he doesn't need everybody knowing, maybe making him feel more guilty."

"You mean Buck?"

Chris smiled, sometimes he forgot that JD wasn't nearly as naive as he had been when he'd first joined the team. "Yeah. Buck's feeling damned protective of Vin right now, he'd likely react badly."

"Okay, I'll get right on it Chris. You want me to call you when I find the information, or wait until you're back at the office?"

Chris thought about it for a moment. On the one hand, he'd like some answers, the sooner the better, on the other hand, if JD called him there were better odds that somebody would overhear him. "You can tell me when I come back to the office JD, thanks."

"Sure thing Chris. Bye." Hanging up the phone, JD immediately started searching on his computer for the information he needed. Three hours later, he had more questions than answers, but at least it was a start. As he read, his trepidation increased. Damn, he really didn't want to have to tell Chris about this. He didn't realize he'd spoken out loud until a voice at his side startled him from his thoughts.

"Mess up a report kid?" Buck asked with a smile.

"Shit Buck! Don't sneak up on me like that," he admonished the older agent as he quickly changed the screen on his computer. Thankfully Buck wasn't at the right angle to read what was on the screen.

"Sorry," Buck held up his hands, surprised by JD's fierce reaction. "So, did you mess up a report?"

"Yeah, something like that," JD gratefully confirmed the cover Buck had unknowingly supplied.

"Well don't worry about Chris, he's not really that mean. Just make sure he's had his coffee before you tell him," Buck advised.

JD grinned at that, "Thanks Buck. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, wouldn't even be here if old mother hen Larabee hadn't made me leave the hospital."

"Can I tell him you said that?" JD asked, his eyes twinkling mischieviously.

"I thought you were my friend JD," Buck mock complained.

"Oh I am, that's why I won't tell him...for a price."

Buck sighed, "What's it gonna cost me?"

"Let me spend a few hours with Vin tomorrow while you go get some rest."

"It's a conspiracy ain't it? Y'all have a meeting about this?"

"No Buck, but we're all worried about you. Besides Vin's my friend too, I'd like to spend a little time with him; see for myself that he's doing better."

Buck couldn't resist the heartfelt words, and he had to admit he did feel better now that he'd had some proper rest in a bed instead of a chair. "It's a deal JD, come by about three o'clock."

"Really?" JD asked. He was surprised, he'd expected it to take a lot more than that. "Thanks Buck."

"Nah JD, thank you." Glancing around the room, he noticed for the first time that nobody else was in the office. "I know where Chris and Ezra are, where's Josiah and Nathan?"

"Josiah's helping team five with a profile and Nathan's teaching a workshop on advanced first-aid techniques. Not much going on now that we got the reports on Browner done."

"Well then, how about you and me go grab a late lunch?"

JD glanced at the clock, surprised by the time. "I didn't even realize what time it was. Lunch sounds good," JD replied. Saving the data he'd found, he shut off his computer and stood up, grabbing his hat.

"We have got to get you a decent hat boy," Buck grinned.

"There isn't anything wrong with my hat Buck."



Ezra had driven aimlessly after leaving the hospital, his mind flooded with memories of Li Pong. It had been one of the worst assignments he'd ever endured. Especially difficult had been standing by and watching while that animal beat the girl for imagined transgressions. How he had wished he could come to her aid. To do so, however, would have been a pointless gesture. The moment he had attempted to help her, Browner would have killed them both. The only thing that would have accomplished, would have been to bring an end to Li Pong's short life a week earlier.

He blinked in surprise as he brought his car to a stop in Chris' driveway. How had he ended up here? Why had he come here? Ezra was about to turn the Jag around when he caught sight of the horses trotting around the corral. One horse wasn't trotting though, his own horse stood next to the fence, staring at him. "Perhaps you're right my friend," he softly spoke. Applying the parking brake, he turned the motor off and climbed from the car. Walking into the barn, he quickly returned, saddle in hand. With efficient movements, he soon had Chaucer saddled and ready. Throwing himself into the saddle, he rode off towards the hills surrounding Chris' ranch.


Chris looked up as the door opened. "Hey Buck."

Buck eyed his old friend, wondering what was going on. Though Chris had masked it quickly, for a second there had been a look of disappointment on his face. "Expecting somebody else?"

"Why do ya ask that?"

"That look on your face when I walked in here."

"Don't know what you're talking about Buck."

"Sure you don't," Buck scoffed. "Where's Ezra?"

"He had some errands to run, I told him to go on," Chris quickly covered.

"Okay. Vin been asleep all this time?" His curiosity over Ezra's whereabouts quickly replaced by concern for the young man lying in the bed.

"Most of it."

"Really? He's never been able to sleep this long at a stretch after a treatment. You didn't talk him into accepting the painkillers did you?"

"No, tried to but he wasn't going for it. Actually it was Ezra that came up with the solution."

Sitting down on the other side of Vin's bed, he absently picked up the sharpshooter's hand, rubbing his thumb over the knuckles. "What solution is that?"

"Acupressure, he knows how to use it. By the time he was done, Vin was in a lot less pain and able to sleep."

"That's great," Buck enthused. "I'll have to get him to show me how to do it."

"He's already planning on it, along with anybody else on the team that wants to learn." Chris stood, stretching muscles made stiff from hours of sitting in the uncomfortable chair. "I think I'm gonna go, got some things to take care of. Tell Vin I'll see him later."

"Okay Chris," Buck responded automatically. It was obvious, even to those who didn't know the man, that he wasn't really paying attention to Chris, his focus fully on the man in the bed.

Smiling affectionately, Chris patted the larger man on the back and quietly left the room. Hoping that Ezra might have ended up back at the office, he made his way there. Besides, he needed to find out what JD had discovered about Browner.

JD looked up when the elevator dinged, somehow he knew it would be Chris. A moment later he was proven right as the blond walked through the door. Motioning for JD to follow him, Chris strode quickly to his private office. JD followed, closing the door behind him.

"What did you find out JD?" Chris asked as he took his seat.

JD swallowed, wetting dry lips. "You won't like it," he warned.

"Damn," Chris muttered, he'd had a bad feeling ever since he'd first realized Browner should still be locked up. "Let me have it JD."

"Browner was convicted of illegal trafficking in weapons and murder, he was sentenced to life in prison, eligible for parole in twenty-five years."

"So what the hell is he doing out?" Chris growled.

"I haven't found out yet. According to what I could find, Rupert Browner was killed in prison three months after entering it. There's more Chris," he went on before his boss could interrupt. "Browner's previous record didn't show up when we ran his prints. They don't match, so I did some checking, compared the prints myself. It's definitely the same man, but his prints now don't show any record, not even a parking ticket."

"JD, are you telling me that somebody in the system helped Browner to escape? Is still helping him?"

"Looks that way," JD reluctantly confirmed. He knew how Chris felt, nobody in law enforcement liked to hear of a brother officer turning bad. They all knew it happened, but nobody liked to think about it, some even going so far as to turn a blind eye to the reality.

"Any idea who?"

"Not yet, but I just started looking."

Chris turned his back on the younger man, staring out the window at the city skyline. A bad agent, he'd been afraid when he set JD to looking into it, that this would be the result, He had hoped it wouldn't be; he should have known better. Damn it! How was he going to tell Ezra that his young friend's death truly had been for nothing? What was it going to do to the man, already feeling guilty, when he was told the truth of the situation? Spinning his chair around, he faced JD. "This doesn't go any further," he ordered. "I need to tell Ezra before we tell the rest of the team."

"Alright Chris. You want me to keep looking into it?"

"Yeah, but be careful. We don't want to tip anybody off."

"Got it," JD nodded.

"Did Ezra come by the office?"

"No, I haven't seen him since this morning."

"Okay. It's almost five, why don't you knock off for the night?"

"I thought I'd stay, do a little more checking. Besides if I'm the only one here, nobody will know I'm checking."

"Good point JD. I'm going to take off, see if I can track Ezra down. If he comes by, give me a call will you?"

"Sure thing Chris."

Having made a decision, Chris wasted no time in hanging around the office. Two hours later, he had exhausted every possibilty as to Ezra's location. Frustrated and worried, he finally turned his truck towards the ranch. Pulling into the driveway, his eyes widened in surprise. Parking in his usual spot, he climbed from the truck and headed into the house. It only took a few minutes to realize that Ezra wasn't anywhere inside the sprawling ranch house. Stepping onto the porch, he looked towards the corral. For the first time since he'd pulled into the drive, he noticed that one of the horses was missing. Quickly saddling his own mount, he took off in search of his undercover agent.

He wasn't nearly the tracker Vin was, but he wasn't helpless either; it didn't take him long to find Ezra's trail. Following the clear tracks, he soon found the smaller man sitting next to the mountain lake nestled in the hills near his ranch. "Mind if I join you?"

Ezra looked up, shading his eyes from the late afternoon sun, at his boss. "Of course," he motioned to the ground next to where he sat.

"Been up here long?"

"I am not certain," Ezra admitted.

Chris raised an eyebrow at that, "No?"

"I have not been paying attention to the time."

"Oh. Are you okay?"

"I am not the one lying in a hospital bed."

"Answer the question Ez."

"I am perfectly fine Mr. Larabee. If you came to tell me I'm fired, I will save you the time..."

"Whoa, hold it right there Ezra. I'm not firing you, why would I?"

"I could have prevented Vin's injuries if I had killed Browner when I had the chance."

"You couldn't do that Ezra, it would've been murder."

"Yes it would have, but I'm sure I could have escaped punishment. Aside from that, I am guilty of not keeping you properly informed. I should have told you, the moment Browner's name came up, what I knew about him."

"You should have, but it really wouldn't have changed anything. You didn't know he was involved until after Vin was taken, so how would it have helped?"

"I could have given you insight into the man's nature," Ezra replied. Perhaps Chris, for reasons he couldn't fathom, was willing to let him off the hook, but he wasn't letting himself off.

"You know we could sit here and debate this all night and nothing would change. Browner still kidnapped Vin, he still hurt him. Frankly I'd rather spend my time doing something constructive."

"Constructive?"

"Ezra, why is Browner out of prison?"

Ezra stared at him, mouth agape. "I never even...I apologize Chris, I was so busy wallowing in my own guilt it never occured to me to question his presence. I presume that if you're asking, you already have the answer."

"Not all of it," Chris acknowledged. Quickly he outlined what JD had discovered.

"Tell JD to focus on Dan Barnes."

"Any particular reason?"

"He was the first to make accusations concerning my integrity. It has been my experience that it is quite often the most vocal accuser of the innocent who is in fact the guilty party."

"You think Browner paid him off?"

"Perhaps, or he may simply have discovered damaging information about the man."

"Alright, we'll have JD pay special attention to him. I plan to tell Buck and Vin what's happening tomorrow."

"I would expect nothing less," Ezra acknowledged.

"I don't want you there when I do."

"You believe Buck will react badly?"

"You know how he gets when somebody he cares about is threatened. It won't take him long to calm down, and once he does he'll realize that you didn't do anything wrong. I just think it'd be best if you weren't around until he does calm down."

"Probably a wise decision."

"Don't worry about it Ez, they won't either of them blame you for what Browner did to Vin," Chris assured the younger man.

"I hope you are correct in your estimation." For several minutes, neither man spoke, each lost in his own thoughts. "Thank you for coming after me," Ezra spoke uncertainly.

"Would have come after you right away, but I promised Buck not to leave Vin alone. You know he slept all afternoon, Buck said he's never slept that long after a treatment. You did good Ezra," he praised the younger man. The look of pleasure on Ezra's face, brought a smile to his own. It wasn't much, but he was glad that his words had brought the green-eyed agent some bit of happiness. Standing up, he brushed the dirt from the seat of his pants. "Come on Ez," he offered a hand up to the other man, writing the unexpected tingle off as a return of circulation to his hand. "We should get back before it gets dark."

TBC

Hope y'all liked this chapter. I know not much on Buck and Vin here, don't worry they won't be forgotten. This is still their story. Please feed the muse with reviews.